Delmar home engulfed in Tuesday night fire

March 13, 2018

The Fort Myers Beach Fire Department has finally left the scene of a house fire on Delmar Avenue.

A single family home on the 200 block of Delmar Avenue caught fire around 7:53 p.m. Tuesday evening. The fire department was on scene until approximately 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Article Photos

Karyn Rooney Ochiuzzo submitted this photo of the fire from on the top level of DiamondHead Resort. The photo was sent to the Observer at 9:12 p.m.

The back of the home sustained the most damage.

The fire was called it at approximately 7:53 p.m. Tuesday.

What looks to be a child's playhouse was partially melted from the flames.

The home, which a neighbor has said is owned by James Talley, is competely destroyed.

Ron Martin, spokesman for the Fort Myers Beach Fire Department, said the home was fully involved upon the department's arrival; it was declared a "second alarm" fire, and back up from the Iona, South Trail and Bonita Springs fire departments responded to the call. Lee County EMS also assisted.

"We requested more manpower since it was so well involved," Martin said.

Three people were taken by EMS to Lee Memorial Hospital, as of 12 p.m. Wednesday, their condition was unknown.

Two dogs were in the home at the time of the fire; one died, the other escaped and was captured on scene, Martin said.

Ron Fleming, who owns the home next door, watched the fire rage in his home with his wife, Jan. Their neighbor across the street started yelling fire and knocked on their door, he said.

His home sustained damage from the neighboring flame; some siding and insulation has been peeled back from the heat; his fence was destroyed on some parts. But the material his fence is made out of is what saved him, he said: the flames didn't hit the bottom story of his home.

A trail of onlookers trickled in and out of Delmar Wednesday morning - Fleming said "half the town" had been to see the home.

At 11 p.m. Tuesday, the Fort Myers Beach Fire Department was still working to put out some "hotspots," Martin said.

The fire is under investigation and the cause is unknown at this time.